The Quran is the central sacred reality of Islam. The sound of the Quran is the first and last sound that a Muslim hears in this life. As the direct Word of God and the embodiment of God's Will, the Quran is considered as the guide par excellence for the life of Muslims. It is the source of all Islamic doctrines and ethics. Both the intellectual aspects of Islam and Islamic Law have their source in the Quran. Perhaps there is no book revered by any human collectivity as much as the Quran is revered by Muslims. Essentially a religion of the book, Islam sees all authentic religions as being associated with a scripture. That is why Muslims call Christians and Jews the "people of the book".
Throughout all its chapters and verses, the Quran
emphasizes the significance of knowledge and encourages Muslims to learn and to acquire
knowledge not only of God's laws and religious injunctions, but also of the world of
nature. The Quran refers, in a language rich in its varied terminology, to the importance
of seeing, contemplating, and reasoning about the world of creation and its diverse
phenomena. It places the gaining of knowledge as the highest religious activity, one that
is most pleasing in God's eyes. That is why wherever the message of the Quran was accepted
and understood, the quest for knowledge flourished.